Yagami's summoning beast could perform Reverse Summoning—and it had been exposed!
He turned slowly to face Orochimaru. In this single full moon cycle, he had already died by this man's hand once. Beneath his mask and the "White Ghost" persona, Yagami's body reacted instinctively, activating Absolute Defense: Bronze Light.
He frantically scrambled for an explanation that would minimize logical loopholes. "Lord Orochimaru," he began, "my summoning beast is a far cry from the creatures of the Great Sages. Your strength is truly formidable to have noticed so quickly.
This is just a small trick of mine. To complete the mission, I just infiltrated the vicinity of the Hidden Cloud. When Cloud ninjas pursued me, I used Reverse Summoning to vanish instantly, leaving no trace."
"Heh... infiltrated the Hidden Cloud?" Orochimaru's vertical pupils glinted with the predatory delight of finding a fascinating toy. "Fox, I am no fool. There is no need for such defensive rhetoric with me."
"The issue isn't where you just went. It's that you possess a capability the ANBU cannot control."
"Do not underestimate Reverse Summoning," Orochimaru continued, his voice slick. "Without it, you are an elite whom the ANBU trusts implicitly. With it, Yellow Dog has no way of knowing your true location. I have spent enough time in and around Ryuuchi Cave to imagine the extraordinary flexibility you now possess. To Yellow Dog, you have become... *uncontrollable*."
Yagami interjected quickly, "My loyalty to the Hokage and Commander Yellow Dog is beyond question, even by someone of your stature, Lord Orochimaru!"
But inwardly, unease took root. Orochimaru was right. Having a summon that could Reverse Summon him meant he could bypass village authorization, leave leaf at will, and appear wherever his beast was. Yellow Dog would doubt him, Hiruzen would doubt him, and his entire life in the village could be compromised.
"Loyalty?" Orochimaru let out a dry, raspy laugh. "You are Yagami, not a member of the Sarutobi clan. Do you truly believe that by shouting about loyalty—even until your throat is raw—the Third and his son will ever truly trust you?"
Yagami froze. Orochimaru had just used his real name.
While Yagami had no family, his only real bonds in the village were with Qiaoyi and purple car (Yamanaka Rika). The fact that Orochimaru had investigated him so thoroughly was a massive complication.
"Whether the Hokage trusts me, I cannot say for certain, but Commander Yellow Dog absolutely does."
"Yagami, do not be so foolish. It lowers my estimation of you." Orochimaru's eyes flashed with unconcealed disdain. "Sarutobi Shinnosuke trusts you because you are useful. You don't actually think they trust you as a person, do you? For that matter, do you believe the Water Style: Water Severing Wave you were given is the original technique created by the Second Hokage?"
Yagami's mind raced. 'is there something wrong with my Water Severing Wave?'
Now that he thought about it, after obtaining the Mastery-level from the system, the chakra flow had changed drastically. He had mastered it instantly through the system and hadn't yet fully parsed the underlying theory.
Orochimaru continued, "The version you received is a degraded variant designed by Sarutobi Hiruzen. The most critical part of any jutsu is the chakra pathway. Hiruzen used his 'Professor' talents in reverse to create a batch of inferior techniques. After all, he can't have you learning the same secrets as his true inner circle, can he?"
"Knowledge is a form of power. To me, knowledge—the true essence of jutsu—is far more important than a title like Jonin. I almost find you pitiful. Hiruzen gave you a scrap, and you treat it like a treasure. Their trust in you is limited. Here, let me show you the real Water Severing Wave. The peak Water Style of the Second Hokage!"
Orochimaru's hands blurred through seals. A high-pressure water beam shot out, slicing clean through the mountain rock above the cave entrance.
In the heat of their previous battle, Yagami hadn't noticed the nuances. Now, he saw it clearly: Orochimaru's beam was thinner, faster, and more concentrated. It wasn't just that Orochimaru was stronger; the version Yagami had been taught was fundamentally nerfed.
No wonder his "Improved Dual Vortex" version still struggled to match Orochimaru's output. Fortunately, the Mastery-level version he had just "looted" from Orochimaru had filled those gaps.
Hiruzen and Yellow Dog were indeed keeping him at arm's length.
"Haven't you realized yet?" Orochimaru said. "ANBU Squad Leader is your ceiling."
Yagami frowned. My ceiling? How did he reach that conclusion? This wouldn't do; Yagami intended to become Vice-Commander, then Commander of the ANBU.
"You don't carry the Sarutobi name," Orochimaru said, driving the point home. "You will never enter their core. Your end will be to diligently complete tasks for Shinnosuke until you quietly vanish on some mission. Even I cannot truly enter the inner circle of Leaf's power."
"The ones who truly control Hidden Leaf are the guards of the Second Hokage who survived to this day: Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu. I am merely the pawn the Third pushed out to counter Hatake Sakumo."
"Who the Third actually wants for Hokage is still undecided. Sakumo and I are putting on a grand show of competition now, but in a decade or two, it might be someone else entirely. I can tell the difference between the Third's lip service and his actual intentions. The likelihood of Shimura Danzo or even Sarutobi Shinnosuke becoming Hokage is much higher than for Sakumo or myself."
So that was it. Orochimaru had a chillingly clear view of his own position. It made sense; a mere seat as the Fourth Hokage wasn't enough to make Orochimaru throw his life away.
Yagami realized that despite the talking, Orochimaru lacked any killing intent. He asked, "Lord Orochimaru, what is it you actually want to say?"
"Finally relaxing?" Orochimaru noted. "Do not take the village too seriously. Do not take the 'Will of Fire' too seriously. The village is *theirs*, not ours. The Will of Fire is *their* philosophy, not ours."
"I only cooperate with the Third's little rivalry because it provides convenient access to more resources. Fox, you are a clever man; you know how to keep cards hidden. I recognize your strength. I have been watching you for months, and I finally caught your tail here."
"Ignore your excuse about the Hidden Cloud. Where you went doesn't matter. What matters is that to the higher-ups, you are now uncontrollable. And for the Sarutobi father and son, 'uncontrollable' is a death sentence. So, why not cooperate with me instead?"
"Everything else is a lie. Only power is real. Collaborate with me, and I won't ask for a performance of 'loyalty.' We will simply trade. You provide what I need, and I give you what you need. Be my mole in the ANBU, and we will exchange benefits. What do you say?"
The ultimate realist: Orochimaru!